Seriously Surprising First Impressions of INDIA's Rajasthan
We're from England, the van's from England! That's crazy! Okay thank you, ah thank you very much! After spending the past few weeks driving across Northern India, we'd be lying if we didn't say that it's been a bit overwhelming, I mean we started our Indian Adventures experiencing an Indian Mega City, sorry, we're getting budged by somebody with something big on their head, then there's been the intense driving conditions. I think we've taken the worst route possible! It seems that there aren't any rules, other than don't hit anything! Wow oh so close! But today we start the next leg of our around the world drive, through India's region of Rajasthan, a part of India we've always wanted to visit. Not all those who wander are lost! J.R.R. Tolkien Good morning, welcome back to India, we had a great night's sleep in this little hotel here, and today we are hitting the road again, we are currently in the town of Fatehpur Sikri, and today we are driving to Jaipur with a few little bits on the way. Thank you very much, well the journey continues! Today we got about 4 hours drive.
So you can see all these people walking, they're actually on a pilgrimage we found out, it's about 150 km further from here, they were walking all night, it is just so hot, I can't imagine walking in this temperature! They've also got like little rescue tents all the way along the road that you can see, and they've got drinks and mattresses - see here, they've got like little areas where people can stop off and get a drink, have a little sit down or lie down and rest, it must be exhausting. It's very unnecessary, it's very noisy! but is unnecessary though. Yeah they tend to horn even when they don't need to horn, in fact when we were coming down the highway yesterday, and there was nobody else on the road other than us and one car coming up behind, it was horny .... it is just so unnecessary though the noise?!
It's just the way it is over here. Okay we're turning left at this Junction here Marianne Left again? Yeah See the back of the wall here, that goes around the town that we just left, amazing Palace and mosque. Yeah it was very interesting, and definitely worth coming here, a lot of people just go to the Taj Mahal and this is not far from Agra, it's a short day trip but definitely recommended to come and have a look, and as our guide told us yesterday it was built a 100 years before the Taj! It's fascinating isn't it?! I am not sure what's happen in there? I think everyone's just getting loaded onto tractors for lifts I think it's a pickup Point yeah like a pickup point. You can see everybody on the backs of trucks. Do you see all the patties, the cow pats patties? Drying in the middle? yeah it's looks like their bus service here this morning. So another lovely sunny day today, it is India's hot season and it does get hot! The temperatures have been floating around 40 degrees centigrade during the day in the shade, so you can imagine how hot it is in the Sun! And how hot it gets in Trudy, but our air con that we serviced in Malaysia, it's keeping the cab about 32° which is bearable, that shows we've been travelling too long if we say that 32° is bearable!! I was going to say we've got the windows open and we're relaxing in a nice cool 27.6 today!
It does feel bizarre, because we don't actually feel that hot now, that's true ! We've literally just passed the gates that say Rajasthan so we are now officially in Rajasthan! How cool does that sound? That sounds very cool! So they carry their milk loads on the side of a motorbike, It never ceases to amaze me how much they can get in a tuk tuk! He gave us a wave! There are loads of cows, good morning cows! Morning cows ! They're big cows as well aren't they? they are! They're massive! Way bigger here ! They actually look like bulls with the horns, they look tough, yeah with a big hump on the back, it's quite impressive! Beefy boom boom! So much calmer driving so far this morning, it's just after 8 in the morning he's coming, he's coming out! and he is! This tuk tuk got a guy, they're going to school obviously, but there it has got a guy who's holding on with his bicycle, it's like a Back to the Future where Marty holds on with the skateboard, yeah ! Passing the morning market, look at that! Our drive today it's very flat out there, almost like plains and the guide we had yesterday said leave early in the morning because by sort of lunchtime early afternoon, there could be quite strong wind gusts created by the heat, which bring up a lot of dust and sand, so I don't know, maybe they have dust storms here? Okay we're nearly at the turnoff for the first stop today, a couple of 100 meters and we're going to be driving into the countryside to see a very cool thing that we've seen online. Oh it's a bit small, oh the bump! jeez, that is a massive bump! That's not a speed bump, that's a hazard! okay we got 7 km to go, but we're definitely going out into the sticks now, you can't get much more rural than this here in India. it's when it gets nice and peaceful. Here's all the straw that they've cut. These roads are so small Marianne? It's like being in Cornwall! it's good though because they're quite open, so you can see quite far the there's nothing coming, there lots of these speed bumps! oh look on the Roof! Oh yeah they got.. it's Roofing? Or are they drying it?
Yes they have got the cow dung here look, that's a perfect example up on the Roof, yeah I don't know what they are using it for burning maybe? all of the straw there is being cut by hand and bundled up. Hi, are you okay? Where are you going? to the stepwell, You have to go straight road, thank you very much! Okay thank you, thank very much. Where do you live? We're from England, we're from England the van's from England, we're driving around the world! This my house, is it? oh yes, oh nice, would you like chai? do we want tea? oh tea? yes yes why not! just one, welcome welcome, thank you! Yeah let's do it! thank you very much! He just invited us for tea! Everybody's very friendly here, yeah, it seems to be.. hi hi! oh that's really nice, is the guy U turning then? I think so, he said go up there, that's his house, and maybe you want to wait here? should I wait here? yeah is he coming back? I don't know, let's wait for a minute and see if he's coming back?! it's okay thank you, thank you very much, he's offering us tea as well! thank you, thank you, Namaste Namaste thank you I'm just going to move forward a little bit more! Oh she's so sweet, everyone they're super friendly here, wow everybody's offered us tea! But that's what happens when you get out into the rural area isn't it! Is he coming? I don't think he's coming, I don't know but that's the second invite! I don't want to keep stopping outside people's houses, otherwise we'll be having tea all day! There is loads of the cow dung drying, look at that! they make them into like these round shapes, oh look, and under the trees, there's the goats in the shade.
That is beautiful! The first car that offer us the tea, I'm not sure it didn't turn around I thought it was going to turn around, but maybe we misunderstood what he was saying, but that's two invites for Cups of Tea! But that's so lovely that people are coming out to check we're okay and if we need water, what a different, such a different feel here compared to city life! Where everyone's noisy and in a hurry.... just listen! This is beautiful, it's lovely! Oh here you go look, this has been made of the cow dung, and I'm not sure what it is? What is that? it looks like almost like a shelter? but I don't know... everybody's drying them, I'm sure it's for fuel it makes sense that it's for fuel, we just spotted a herd of these animals they look like deer one of them actually ran across the road a few days ago, and we didn't know what it was, it's like a cross between a cow and a deer? Yeah I'm not sure what mammal that is? But they're obviously here ! making sugar cane Cutting the grass, the straw by hand oh she's waving! wow some of these houses are just gorgeous! There's massive houses here, look at this! that's beautiful, in the quiet of the countryside.
I think everybody wants you to come for tea! yeah this is real rural, Watch the side there love, there is a bit of a drop! Oh cab you to get through there? yeah he is moving the bike in, thank you, thank you All the way around to the left Sorry Trudy! what a wonderful place! If there's a passing let me know there's a guy behind who wants to get through, Oh is he letting you go? it's an ambulance. There is a passing place, thank you, what I might do wave this guy past, yeah. This is actually a river bed on Google Maps, oh is it? yeah, So maybe in monsoon season, there's floods? wow this is a very very cool road, I can't believe how good the condition of this road is? if it's a river bed? Okay follow it around to the left, so this is the little village where our destination is, just keep going straight. Do you see the green number plate? I wonder what the green number plate is? I don't know. Sometimes I do wonder where you are taking me to? I know! It's hard to navigate and not take you down a road that you shouldn't go down! I know, but it's just fun! But I do wonder sometimes ... some of the roads are a bit narrow !
No no no ...... it's not even that, I'm just curious as to where the hell we're going, when you take me on these roads! Our destination is like in here, so if you just turn right at the end here. slow down it's down the back road, just park up here. I think you can go here and park up here, The Stepwell Restaurant. So yeah the reason we've come here is because there's one of the famous Indian stepwells here, and a temple which you can see there, oh we got a party tractor! So if we go to the stepwell first.
Hello Sir, Where are you from? England! Are you going to Chand Baori? Yes, we're going yeah hello Namaste, so yeah I think the stepwell must be inside this magnificent looking building, this is Lovely isn't it? just right out in the Indian Countryside, you got this little village, Oh my goodness, that's crazy look at that! So these are step wells, I've only ever heard of them here in India, They are basically a safe way to get down to the water source, to The Watering Hole - so the bottom would have been filled with water, and it still is, look at that, rather than lowering a bucket, or accidentally falling in, they've made all these stairs, but not just one set of stairs! Would the water rise do you think? and then drop maybe? I don't know, that is fascinating! that is absolutely beautiful! Yeah I've never seen anything like this! Located in Abhaneri Village, the Chandburi is one of the oldest stepwells in Rajesthan and was built by back in the 9th century, by King Chanda to conserve water. With Rajesthan being one of the most water scarce regions in the world, this stepwell ensured water was available even during times of drought. I just can't believe how much how much work's gone into this, and they haven't just put steps in.
they've made this whole decorative complex, and probably would have lived here next to the Water Source. This is the wildest structure I've ever seen! It's like you know the Great Pyramids it's like one of those that is just absolutely incredible, not just the workmanship but the the creativity the mind the understanding behind it! Chandburi is an architectural marvel, 13 stories deep, with 3,500 perfectly symmetrical narrow steps. We are just going and have a look at this uh the Harshat Mata Temple built in the 7th Century the temple is dedicated to Harshat Mata, The Village's goddess of joy and happiness, just looking at all the carvings on the side there such detail in the stone here Namaste. beautiful! All the stone carvings in the walls are absolutely stunning, and there's little Trudy parked over there, baking in the hot sun! So after that amazing little stop off, we have jumped back into Trudy, we have got about two hours drive, and we're going to park up for the night somewhere near Jaipur, or just in Jaipaur before we carry on heading east through Rajasthan. I just love all their coloured dresses, their head gear, and it alway amazes me how they they carry everything on the head, but I suppose it's perfectly weighted through the centre of your body, so it makes perfect sense actually to carry things on top of your head.
We have wound up on a slightly bigger country line now. phew, it's warm now! The sun is beating down. I saw a donkey! I saw my first donkey, really? Yes, I saw a donkey - I love donkeys! yes you do, They are very humorous animals. Okay, turn right at the Big Junction, it's a bit chaotic now isn't it? oh my goodness! whenever you're by a big Junction it's always a bit mad, you have got everything from Tuk Tuk, cows, motorbikes... It's literally like the Red Arrows! Hi single trip, single trip, thank you, okay, cash is double.
Why do they horn so much? Everybody horns! It doesn't mean anything, it just means hey I want to go! but you can't! thank you very much. Is it just me, or do all the stones on the central reservation look like gravestones? Or a sign that they're killing your car? with these bumps on this this Highway or where they buried all the victims of the crazy driving from over here! We're just going through the outskirts of Jaipur, we're near our destination and go through a tunnel here, but only one car seems to have his lights on? It is quite interesting, no, two cars! yay two! three including us! turn left, just going for the busiest traffic on the the outskirts of Jaipur, as we make our way for a spot to stay, rest up before we continue East tomorrow towards Jaisalmer. It's right here there going to be a problem, I just held my breathe! This is why India is interesting at Junctions, because there's only two lanes on this road, but they've made four, there's a motorbike and a car lane, car lane, another car, another car, motorbike, it's just chaos, and then when it moves like this, it's just going to be chaos, everyone just horns, see look there's two lines on the floor! That's it, and then it's first left, down here, you need to go straight. There you go, it's in there? Yeah, there we go. secure parking in the madness of the city! hello, Nameste, we have a reservation.
Oh park straight, there, that's my plan, that's great! thank you, thank you. There was something about today that just felt different to other parts of India we'd explored, maybe it was the smiles and welcome we got from people, maybe it was the unique sites or finally escaping the traffic, I think we're going to enjoy our adventures across Rajesthan and if you enjoyed this then you're not going to want to miss this video, our first experience of Kolkata
2024-06-08 13:22
